To be you
by Genesic
Summary: Taiora, one-shot. Even after all these years, his hands still felt the same.


I don't own Digimon; that ebay bid was a scam!!

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Even after all these years, his hands still felt the same. They were strong, yet gentle at the same time. A warmth spread to her from his fingertips as they brushed by her arm. So many years ago, yet it was like nothing had ever changed.

"Except you used to wear gloves back then..." Sora murmured to herself absentmindedly, her comfort lulling her into sleep.

"Huh? You say something?" Tai's voice saved her from dozing off right at the last minute. He stopped fiddling with a random frill, and peered at Sora curiously. She couldn't help but frown slightly when she saw his hair; so short and clean, it was nothing like the hair she remembered.

"No, it's nothing." Sora shook her head and smiled. "How's it going so far? I can't exactly see myself." She chuckled, fidgeting on the chair impatiently.

"Well, it's definitely going, just don't ask me where." Tai shook his head in exasperation. "You _know_ I'm no good with this stuff. Why'd you go and pick _me_ of all people?" He had mixed-feelings about being here. Sure he was happy to see Sora again after all this time, but at the same time it was painful, especially knowing what all of this was for. He walked behind Sora, as to hide his sad smile, and began trying to put her hair up.

"You're my best friend in the whole world, Tai, Matt's too. And it's been forever since we've seen each other." Sora's smile was slightly off, but Tai couldn't see it from where he was.

"Yeah, yeah..." Tai sighed. "You're just lucky that I finally managed to catch a break in work to come here." His tone took on a sour note.

"Being an ambassador's hard work, huh?"

"Oh it's just peachy. Getting attacked by both humans _and_ _digimon_ who refuse to make peace is like a day at the beach." He clenched his right hand tightly. "They shut up once you get persuasive though." He laughed.

"Some ambassador you are." Sora giggled back.

"Hey, I may be an ambassador, but I never said I was a pacifist. Besides, it's not like they can fire me; there's nobody to replace me." He gloated. His eyes glanced at the nape of Sora's neck as he lifted her hair up, it looked so soft and delicate. _Stop it._ His mind ordered.

"Better be careful, that might not be true one day." Sora shivered slightly at his touch.

"Whatever you say. Where does this go again?"

"Um...here?"

"That doesn't look right. Are you sure you know what this is supposed to look like?"

"Alright, so I'm not very good with this kind of thing either! Just leave it be, one little ribbon shouldn't matter."

"Point taken." Tai nodded, flinging the ribbon off to the side. "I'm just glad that you aren't wearing any kind of hat to this."

"Very funny. I haven't been hat-crazy in a long time. I'm just glad that you finally decided to outgrow your old hair too." Sora lied.

"Then quit glaring at it when you think I'm not looking." Tai shot back, grinning at her shocked face. "I still prefer my old hair too, but big hair not only makes you seem comical at conferences, it also poses a larger chance of catching fire when dodging attacks from angry fire-digimon." Tai rubbed his head sympathetically.

"Point taken. I didn't realize it was _that_ dangerous." Sora felt a pang of shame.

"Nah, that's only happened a few times." Tai lightened his mood, today was not the day to make Sora feel bad. "Anyways, how's Matt doing with the whole astronaut thing?"

"He's really dedicated to it, you should see his face whenever he starts talking about it." Sora giggled. "I still don't know why he's so determined to do this, but I'm happy for him." She smiled, she really admired his determination.

"Whatever floats his boat- err, shuttle." Tai laughed. "I just can't wait to start laying into him with all these space jokes I've been saving up." He rubbed his hands together sinisterly.

"Take it easy on him, he still gets embarrassed around the subject sometimes." Sora warned.

"No problem, Kari probably won't even let me; she's been watching me like a hawk since I got back. I feel like she's just trying to find a reason to tear me apart." He shuddered.

"She's just happy that you're home, and upset that you never called any of us."

"You call punching me right in the face happy? Anyways, I'm just worried that she planted a chip on me or something. I can't leave the block without her calling me up."

"Well she's probably just making sure you don't run off again, she was really hurt when you did that." Sora frowned, she had been hurt too. Tai had just suddenly disappeared, and it was weeks before they finally heard he was learning to become an ambassador for the digital world.

"It wasn't like I planned to go running off or anything, that's just how it ended up working out." Tai muttered. "I felt like....like I needed a change all of a sudden." He smiled sadly, pausing to fix Sora's hair again. Her hair felt like silk, and he could practically smell the soft scent of shampoo wafting from it. It made him want to scream.

"I guess I can relate; never thought I'd get into the fashion industry." Sora attempted to lighten the mood. "If you can even call it _getting into_."

"Hey, you may be small now, but I'm sure you'll hit it big in no time. I've seen some of your designs. I never knew you had that kind of talent. Maybe I should have payed closer attention." Tai resisted the urge to ruffle her hair.

"Matt says that too." Sora laughed happily.

"Well then he knows what he's talking about. You picked out a good man for your husband, Sora." Tai patted her shoulder.

"Yeah. Thanks Taichi." There was silence for a few awkward seconds, both grappling with their inner-selves. Tai was the first to break the silence, suddenly pulling Sora up to her feet.

"Well, I think that's as good as someone like me will be able to do." Tai laughed, looking the bride up and down. "Look at that, my daughter's all grown-up." He rubbed his eyes, and produced a few over-exaggerated sobs. Sora punched him in the arm playfully.

"Thanks a lot, _Dad_. I'm so glad I have your approval." She smirked. Would she still be able to have moments like these with Tai after today?

"You really do look beautiful, Sora." Tai stared at her a moment before speaking. He was in awe at her beauty, even though he had been the one to help with her appearance. His eyes lingered on her soft visage, before pretending to look outside one of the room's windows.

"...Really?" Sora asked doubtfully, looking herself over. She felt embarrassed whenever Tai's gaze was on her.

"Yeah, you do. You're making me feel all regretful!" Tai laughed as hard as he could without sounding fake. He suddenly tensed up; he had said too much.

"Regretful? Why?" Sora's curiosity was suddenly piqued. She watched Tai freeze up for a second, unaware that the slip was unintentional.

"Oh...you know. It's nothing really. It's just: I had feelings for you in high-school." Tai did his best to make it seem like a small matter. He left out the fact that he still had said feelings, and they seemed stronger than ever. He was practically sweating under her gaze.

"Really? I had no idea..." The words felt like a blow to her skull. She had no clue that he had liked her back then, but she had always hoped. She felt a sudden impulse to ask another question. It was a really stupid question, dangerous too, but she had to ask it. "Then...do you regret it? Not telling me I mean." Her question caused Tai to freeze up for a second time.

"....Yeah, I really do. Even now, I do. You look really beautiful, Sora." His smile was one of accepted surrender. He had lost, a long time ago.

Before Sora even knew what she was doing, she was holding herself tightly against her childhood-friend. She didn't feel even the slightest warning before the tears started to pour out. It was suddenly hard for her to breathe. The tighter she held onto him, the better she felt.

Tai was utterly dumbfounded, but his arms reacted on their own; hugging her back. He felt a few tears slip down his face, and grit his teeth to keep from making any crying noises. Even in this state, she was more tempting than ever before. He wanted this moment to continue on forever.

"_I'm really glad you came back, Tai. I couldn't have my wedding without my best friend, could I?" _Matt's blissful grin suddenly halted Tai's thought process. In an instant, his arms pushed her away and held her there. Sora's shocked, and hurt face made his heart feel like bursting, but his arms held strong.

"Sora...." His arms shook, and he could not look at her face. "Matt will make you happy, I know he will. _You_ know he will." He refused to look up until he could force his lips to smile. Another silence filled the room. Realization suddenly dawned on Sora's face, and the tears poured out harder than ever.

"I-I know that." Suddenly she couldn't face him. She buried her face in her hands, and sobbed heavily. "I know that! I know that he...that he will!" She wasn't lying, Matt would make her happy.

Tai looked at Sora's crying form; her back turned to him. He wished a thousand times to reach out and hold her, to take away the tears she was crying for someone like him, but he held himself back. He did this for her sake, for Matt's sake, for his sake. _I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I'm such an idiot! ….I can never hold you again now._ He felt emptier than ever.

"I know that!" Sora continued hysterically. "It's just that.... it's just that...!" She sobbed out the last words.

They would both eventually walk out of the room like nothing had ever happened. They would both smile, they would both laugh. Tai would do his best to smile as Sora and Matt were wed before him. They would both do their very best to forget. But they would never forget those last words Sora spoke in that room, the words that would ring in their hearts forever.

"_It's just that....I wanted **you** to make me happy."_

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Damn, I feel bad just writing this *sniffle. Sorry for making a story like this, but I had the sudden craving to write something sad, this is the result of said feelings. I'm not sure why I had that urge, but now I wish I hadn't.

I don't take very much credit for this story though. It's mostly based off the last words of this story. I read them on somebody's art once(not Taiora though). Of course it didn't have a bunch of dialogue or anything like this story, but I wouldn't feel right if I wasn't honest about where the main theme of the story came from.

I hope this story was written well enough for at least some people to enjoy, or at least tolerate. It was all written rather fast, hehe. It's quite a short-story, but I feel one like this is better off being to the point.

I'm almost finished with the next chapter of "You Scratch My Arm, I Break Yours" if anyone is interested in it's progress. I had most of it written, but the urge for this story suddenly blocked off my ability to finish it. It should be easy now though. Just thought I'd give the heads up.

Please drop in a review if you enjoyed this story. I like to know what I'm doing wrong, and what I'm doing AWFUL(Doing right? I'm not familiar with that term.). Thanks for taking the time to read this story.


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